Posts Tagged ‘john bivens’

Playing a bit of catch up on my blogging, but wanted to at least post some notes and comments from C2E2 earlier this year. I know I usually do a full convention report, but I’m hoping this summary will be just as fun.

THURSDAY:
Not an official con day, but because I got set up and was hanging out with people from the con, I include it. I hung out with my good friends John Bivens and his wife, Mallory, and we had some delicious sushi together. We also checked into our airbnb place, which was a nice lofty space within walking distance from the convention center.

Delicious sushi from Union

John and Mallory, mid bite. They didn’t want to slow down to pose for a photo – the food was too good!

FRIDAY:
The first day of the con, sales were good and strong. We had some great traffic to the table, another fantastic position (and very kind table neighbors), and some great volunteers and helpers at the table. After the con ended, it was time for our traditional trip to Niu – my favorite sushi place in the city. After dinner, I went to hang out at the hotel bar for a bit and ran into some good friends from the con circuit, but since the hotel was under construction the bar scene was a bit dead. Didn’t stay too long or too late. Plus, I’m tired all the time now because of the baby.

Hanging out with my man, Eric Palicki, at NIU for yet another delicious sushi night

The whole crew at dinner

Ordered the Sexy Mexican (my favorite roll), as well as a new seasonal roll that was ON FIRE!

Hanging out with Analise at the hotel bar

SATURDAY:
An early morning, another great day of sales (and a hard day of sales…the isles felt very far apart, so we were really working for those pitches), and more seeing some fantastic people. I was visited several times by my good friends over at Channel Awesome, and we made some dinner plans for later that night. Brad Jones had debuted his new movie, “Jesus Bro!,” which sold out in an hour or so. He was ecstatic – and rightly so! After the con ended, we hiked over to China Town and grabbed some delicious food at a popular place (seriously, we had to wait like 45 minutes to get seated, and we didn’t go during prime dinner hours – but the food was good, so all was forgiven).

I love hanging out with this group, because they are so friendly, conversational, and super nerdy – like me!

SUNDAY:
The final day of the con involved moving out of the airbnb, grabbing a delicious breakfast sandwich on the walk to the con, and selling more comics. More of the Channel Awesome crew stopped by, including my friend Aiyanna from Awesome Comics. She enjoys cosplaying, and was appropriately dressed up as Belle from Beauty and the Beast (since the new live action movie was coming out). Her idea was to take a photo with me reading her book, and her reading the book I made (Albert the Alien). She’s so much fun.

I also did a couple of sketch card commissions, and sold the crap out of the books we brought. At the end, I packed up my stuff and helped some buddies do the same, and then headed for the long drive back home. All in all, another fantastic show and one I look forward to returning to soon!

Enjoying (perhaps too much?) a delicious breakfast sandwich before the show

Aiyanna Wade (Awesome Comics) is Belle, enjoying reading Albert the Alien while I read her Romeo and Juliet book. Perhaps we both want more than this provincial life

Aquaman sketch card commission

Myself and Josh Elder are ready to sell comics on the final day of the show!

Saturday’s always come far too early for my taste, especially when 1) recovering from jet lag, and 2) having stayed up late the previous night at a con, and you have to get up early to set up and sell. Alas, this is the reality of the dream that is selling comics. But hey, at least it’s fun work.

SATURDAY:
After a quick shower and breakfast, I headed over to the convention center for a full day of sales and panels. I did a quick inventory, set up, and before I knew it the hall had attendees in it. Eventually, my good pal John Bivens showed up for some art demonstrations he was doing on the main stage. And without warning – because the day was flying past – I found myself attending some panels.

Ready for another day of sales and panels

Dean Haspiel takes an artsy picture of Danny Fingeroth, while I sell comics in the background

Hanging with my good buddy, John Bivens

The first panel of the day was about Making Indie Comics, and was moderated by former Spider-Man editor Danny Fingeroth. On the panel were Danny, Victor Dandridge (Wondercare), Dean Hapsiel, another guy (who was very much the definition of “indie artist”), and myself. We all talked about our various projects and experiences, and how we define indie creator and where we think the indie world of comics is going. It was interesting to see each person’s unique perspective on the topic, and how they funneled that definition into their art, writing, and projects. Even Danny had a few indie projects in the works, which were fascinating.

I went back for more selling, but then a little while later had my solo-panel for the day about Making Webcomics. Since it was just me (and about 20-30 attendees), I kept it pretty informal and mostly answered their questions. It was a fun time, and we had some great engagement from the group. When the panel did conclude, however, I went back to the table and continued to answer any leftover questions – and also to get back to selling, of course.

As the evening came to a close, we started to discuss dinner plans. Being the local among us, John recommended some great places within walking distance of the hotel, and we all met in the lobby and walked over to the pub.

Dinner with the guys. On the left: Dean Haspiel (front), John Bivens (back); on the right: Trevor Mueller (front) and Danny Fingeroth (back)

Dean and I shared some delicious ribs and penne, and all of us enjoyed some tasty adult beverages. We talked about comics, projects past and present, and goals and ambitions for the weekend. Dean talked about how much of a Prince fan he was, and that he had gone to some Prince locations around the city throughout the weekend.

As dinner wined down, we eventually went our separate ways – except for Dean and I, who headed over to the Wizard after party a few blocks away. Dean had some meetings set up with the owner of Heavy Metal Magazine, and I just wanted to chat with some creators (and maybe some of the TV celebrities). We figured there would be a private room set aside for the guests of the con, but that wasn’t exactly the case. When we arrived to the club, a trendy place with (loud) live music and a very youthful group (including a bachelorette party of women with phalluses on their heads, dancing with cosplayers ranging from Spider-Man to Dot Matrix – the C3PO character from Spaceballs). The VIP section was roped off, but in the main room above the stage – so the music was too loud to hear anyone, even if you were screaming into their ears. The drinks were flowing and the conversation (when you could hear anything) was pleasant, so we stayed for a few hours before calling it a night.

And by calling it a night, I mean we went back to the hotel so I could show Dean and Jeff what this whole anime convention was all about. I took them to the rave. Greg Ayres was DJing, and the place was filled with people dancing all over the place. I kept getting invited to dance on stage, but that’s not really my scene anymore. Plus, I had to keep an eye on Dean and Jeff. They stuck around for a few songs before it finally did get too late for the lot of us and we went our separate ways.

What kind of fun things do you typically do at a con on Saturday night? Do you rave, and if so do you stay the whole time or just for a bit of it?

SUNDAY:
Either my alarm didn’t go off, or I slept through it – because I looked over and it was 9am (an hour after my alarm was supposed to go off, and an hour before opening). I quickly got ready, packed up, and checked out. I skipped breakfast, because there wasn’t time, and set up for the final day of the show. The con was slow, as it often is on Sundays, with people having stayed up too late the night before and being sluggish on the final day of the show. I was no exception.

Eventually, we broke to do our Writing Comics panel with Danny, Dean, myself, and Dan Jurgens (The Death of Superman). The panel was quite interesting, as Dan – a veteran in the comic space – was giving advice on his creative preferences that contradicted what my experience had taught me in some cases. However, even though our approach was quite different, the message was the same: partner with your creators in order to tell the best story possible. Forcing your artists to follow your scripts leads to stiff comics – give them freedom to put their best work on the page so long as it helps strengthen the story. He also touched on how many writers write comics like they’re writing movie scripts, which is a big no-no in comics. Movies allow for motion, but comics are a series of still images that readers have to animate in their minds to get the visual narrative to flow.

All in all, it was a fantastic discussion. At the end of the panel, I went back to the table to break down for the weekend and – after a short hiccup where I lost my coat in the hotel – Dean and I shared a cab to the airport to catch our flights. We enjoyed some quick lunch, and then went our separate ways.

All in all, Wizard World Minneapolis is a smaller but very fun convention – in a gorgeous space, and in a nice town. There’s plenty of night life, lots of culture, and great talent coming to the show. New friends were made, old friends were seen, and a fun weekend was had by all.

Thursday had been a fun (and somewhat relaxing) way to start the long weekend, but now it was time to get into the meat of things. The con didn’t start until the afternoon, but there was still plenty to get done before we set up and got started (plus, we had to actually set up), so as the alarm went off I realized that it was…

FRIDAY:
…the first official day of the convention, and therefore time to get down to business. But before I could do that, though, I need to hit the gym. This is a ritual for me at conventions, and because it’s a con the gym is usually empty. I was pleasantly surprised to find people in there, however, some of which were likely attendees of the anime con (the Aska yoga pants were a dead giveaway). This gym was INCREDIBLE. Not just the best hotel gym I’ve ever been in, but probably the best gym period. Full pool, basketball court, 3 racketball courts, 7 places to do pull-ups, a full kettlebell set, tons of free weights and a full cardio room. Yeah, this was my version of workout heaven.

After working out and a quick shower, I needed some fuel to get through the day. I texted some friends who were attending the anime convention, and we went down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. At the table a few down from us, I saw a most peculiar site: Lou Ferrigno (TV’s The Incredible Hulk) having breakfast with comic book legend Neal Adams. Lou got up for seconds as I was going up for my first, and I opted to say good morning to the man – who responded in a kind of gruff, “Oh crap it’s a fan and I’ve been recognized – don’t talk to me, kid” kind of way. Have you ever had a childhood hero turn out to not be what you expected?

After breakfast ended, we were joined by Samurai Dan and had a chance to chat a bit before I needed to go grab my 80 lbs of books (plus displays) and trek them over to the convention center from the hotel. Thankfully, the weather was gorgeous that day and the walk was warm but pleasant. I arrived at the con with plenty of time to set up, and I had a choice location – right next to Danny Fingeroth (Spider-Man) and Dean Hapsiel (American Splendor, The Red Hook). It was a fantastic corner spot, too, so opportunity to connect with cross traffic on their way back to the celebrities in the back of the building.

The swanky corner booth, all set up for sales

The show didn’t start for a few more hours, so after setting up I settled in and started working on sketch cards. As guests and artists started to arrive, I eventually broke away from the table to talk to friends like Victor Dandridge (WonderCare), and also met Barry Bostwick (The Rocky Horror Picture Show). Barry was super nice, and very funny. Eventually, the time came and the doors opened and we were in full sales mode.

After a few hours, I decided to break down the table a bit early so I could have dinner with my good friend Alicia and her kids. Alicia used to live in Michigan and we saw each other all the time, but eventually she moved back Minnesota and started a family, so our opportunities to hang out had become less frequent. Well, now I was in her home state, and she drove over an hour to come see me and hang out. Plus, her kids were awesome. We went to a Perkins and played tick-tack-toe on the placemats, and I bought the kids some quarter ninja figures from the machines by the cash register. The kids drew me pictures and I got to catch up with Alicia about how her life has changed since coming home. It was a great way to enjoy the evening, but since it was past the kid’s bedtimes (and they had another hour until they got home), we called it a night early.

She drove me back to the hotel and I freshened up, went to the anime con’s green room for some “refreshment,” and then headed to the panel room for Cards Against Humanity. Samurai Dan and Lady Jillian do this at almost every con they attend, and they’re always kind enough to invite me to participate. The dais had some great people on it, too, including my good friend Briana and her wife. The jokes started flying as we read the most inappropriate cards, and the evening came to a fitting close (much later than it probably should have). Saturday would be the proving ground for the show, and would determine if I had to bring a bunch of stuff home or not…

As convention season heats up, we’re continuing our coverage of the shenanigans I have going on at cons (and appearances) throughout the country. Next stop: Wizard World Minneapolis!

Wizard was kind enough to invite me out to be a guest at this show, which was a first-time event for me. I always get giddy when it comes to first-time cons, since it’s a new crowd (and you’re never quite sure how well you’ll do…but you know you’ll have a ton of fun talking about the work). But it was also the same weekend as an anime convention in the hotel, which had also reached out to me to lead some panels at night after the Wizard show had ended for the day. I had the added benefit of seeing some old friends that I haven’t seen in quite some time who are local to Minneapolis, so all of these things were leading up to an amazing weekend filled with comics, friends, and fun!

THURSDAY:
I took a half-day from work to catch my flight at O’Hare, which took much less time to get to than I had thought. After a few hiccups trying to figure out where my gate was, I eventually settled in for an uneventful flight (and watched a few episodes of Orphan Black to help pass the time, since I get motion sick if I write or read while traveling). I landed and took a cab to the hotel, and immediately settled in for some dinner and unwinding. I ran into my good buddy (and anime guest) Greg Ayres, and we had a few drinks out on the patio before mutually calling it a night.

Adult beverages to unwind before the con

What do you do to pass the time when traveling? How do you typically unwind before or after a con?

Last weekend was another awesome and amazing ACEN – this third largest animation convention in the country, and my favorite convention to attend as a guest. It’s also a very strong sales show, and has a very enthusiastic fan base. This was my 5th year as a guest at the show, and the experience just keeps getting better every year.

THURSDAY:
After work, I headed over to the convention center from downtown Chicago. During my walk from the train to the hotel I was recognized by several fans and attendees, all of whom were in good spirits for the impending fun that would occur this weekend.

Upon arriving at the show, I went to con ops to get my badge and room keys, dropped off my stuff, and headed to dinner with the other comic guests including Russell Lissau (Strawberry Shortcake, Shrek), John Bivens (Comic Book Tattoo, Reading with Pictures), and his wife, Mallory. Steve Horton (Amala’s Blade) showed up a little later. After dinner, we headed up to V to enjoy some drinks with the other guests and some of the ACEN staff. Then it was off to bed because – silly me – I decided working out in the morning would be a fun way to start the day on Friday.

FRIDAY:
6:30am rolled around, and our alarm sounded. Since I’m in wedding boot camp, I’m trying to go to the gym 2-3x per week so I’m…less skinny for my wedding. Bivens was kind enough to join me, and we did a full arms and shoulders workout for an hour. We were joined by Jessie Pridemore, who handles the masquerade for the show every year – and has some amazing cosplays!

After the workout, we showered and headed to breakfast – and then headed to the floor to set up for our weekend of selling. There was some confusion on our location on the floor, but after a quick conversation with the appropriate people we were able to locate to the correct location – which totally rocked! Sales were extremely high on Friday, with volume 2 of my latest book selling insane amounts! Always a good thing.

Russell Lissau is ready for commerce, baby!

After the floor closed, we headed off for a quick dinner before heading to our panels for the evening. Russ and Steve had a Superman vs Batman panel, which was standing room only and had a line waiting to get in. During the panel, Steve’s wife showed up to celebrate their 10 year anniversary in front of a crowd of a hundred people. It was really cute, and I was glad to play a role in their special day.

After their panel ended, I headed to Bivens Drawing Comics panel already in progress. Gabe had joined him, and the two were having a great time giving an entertaining and educational panel about visual storytelling and pacing. After their panel ended, I had about 20 minutes before my Panel That Shall Not Be Named. This has been a convention staple, and usually has a full room. This year the show gave me a very large room for the panel, and it was pretty full for the entire duration of the hour. The panel was a ton of fun, and a great way to end the night on a high note.

After the panels the group headed up to V for more drinks and hanging out, and then headed off to bed.

SATURDAY:
Breakfast was the order of the morning, with some delicious gourmet buffet-style with fresh fruit and juice. A solid breakfast makes for a solid day, so after we headed to the floor to get to selling. Traffic on Saturday was record-breaking for ACEN, with a huge number of attendees coming in to shop and buy and check things out.

Between sales there’s always time to make silly faces

Friday sales had been so strong, Saturday seemed to lag a little – which was surprising. However, this was more than made up later in the evening after the panels. There was a lot of interest in the new books on the table, including the launch of the Albert the Alien webcomic series. Lots of new fans and friends were made as books were flying off the shelf – including my remaining copies of Reading with Pictures volume 1 (now out of print).

Trevor, selling some comics

However, Saturday was a ton of fun – with the group getting a chance to be goofy behind the tables, as well as checking out the fantastic cosplays people put together for the show. Some seriously artistic and creative people out there.

After the floor closed, we all headed to dinner – enjoying some 18 year old scotch and delicious food. We then headed off to our Making Comics panel – which was an all comic guest panel Q&A about making comics. Some excellent questions and hilarious jokes later, the panel was over and it was off to quickly moderate my next panel – Making Webcomics. The rooms for both panels were filled to the brim, and I used the panel as another Q&A format to help answer questions people had about their own webcomics – or the process in general.

After the panels, I headed up to V for a final night of hanging out with good company. I got to chat with Brad Swaile until all hours, enjoy some tasty beverages, and laugh until I had no voice.

SUNDAY:
Sunday saw a 9am press call, which was well attended and we got some great questions. The group all had specialties to focus on, and input to each of the questions. After the press call, it was time for our final breakfast together- followed by a bum rush to the floor for the final day of selling.

John and Mallory pose in front of their booth at ACEN 2013

Sunday is family day at shows like ACEN, and this is when Albert the Alien tends to shine. I almost sold out of my entire stock, some from families and some from panel attendees from the previous nights of the show. I sold out of Junkyard Chase and one of my Albert books before the end of the day. All in all, the show was fantastic.

After the show, Beth showed up to come get me and we packed the car and headed out to dinner with the gang. We were joined by Sean and Sara from Spinnerette and connected on how well they did during the weekend, on the next show we would all be doing together (Anime MidWest), and on how we can connect outside of the shows a bit more (Ravinia has Lord of the Rings the Two Towers in August with live orchestral accompaniment).

Once again, ACEN sets the bar high for a fun weekend and a great convention. I would like to thank the staff and volunteers for putting together a phenomenal show; the fans I’ve made who continue to support the work, tell their friends about me, and attend my panels; and my amazing friends, without their support I would not be able to do what I love so much. You guys all rock, and from the bottom of my heart, I thank you!

Trevor stands by his books – figuratively and literally

###

On a sullen note, this was the very first ACEN I attended that my friend Kim was not there. For those of you who missed the post last year, my friend Kim first introduced me to ACEN and it was the annual opportunity to see her and hang out. Unfortunately, Kim passed away last year from epilepsy. It was difficult for me throughout the weekend not to reflect on her passing, but Kim would not have wanted the weekend to be tainted by her not being there.

When her mother commented on my Facebook page to say that Kim was there in spirit behind me saying “good job,” I knew that wouldn’t be true. Kim would have been running around the show in cosplay, soaking up the sights and having a blast! That’s the kind of awesome girl she was, and her energy and enthusiasm is what I will remember for the rest of my life.

Ladies and gents, I’m happy to announce another successful C2E2 show occurred this past weekend in Chicago. The people at Reed outdid themselves yet again, with some killer sales and awesome staffers putting together one of the fastest growing shows in Chicago.

With that said, let’s dive right into the con report:

THURSDAY:
Even though the show didn’t start this day, my friends who were attending the con arrived that night. After getting out of the office I met up with Scott (my web guy, and a great friend) and headed off to pick up a table for Joe and Phil (www.digitalpimpsonline.com), since they were flying in from another state. We also went to order pizza. My phone wouldn’t stop blowing up with text messages and phone calls, as everyone was looking to get unpacked and relax. Plus, I had promised them food.

Eventually Russell Lissau (Strawberry Shortcake) and Lora Innes (The Dreamer) showed up, followed by Alan Evans (www.rivalangels.com) and Joe and Phil.

Everyone showed up, drinks and laughs were had, it was a full house for sure. I set everyone up with sleeping arrangements (I’m happy to say with 6 house guests, no one had to sleep on the floor), and we all headed off to bed. The next day would be an early one, since we all needed to set up our booths and tables.

FRIDAY:
An early morning greeted us on the other side of our pillows, followed by packing up the cars and hi-tailing it over to the convention center. Reading with Pictures was the booth Russell and I were running – volunteering our time to help out the organization. Russ had a few issues of Strawberry Shortcake, and I had a brand new Albert the Alien story. Additionally, we were both selling RWP books and promoting the recently announced Kickstarter campaign.

The day started off with heavy traffic, took a dip in activity, and then finished strong. Throughout the day I kept running around the floor, taking advantage of the professional hours to say hi to some comic friends I know (and only get to see at shows like this), and prepping for the live RWP reading we would be doing on Sunday.

Sales seemed to be mirrored by everyone on Friday, with that last minute rush helping quite a bit. Albert sold extremely well, especially for the premiere at a larger show like this – which tends to be dominated by licensed characters.

After the show ended, the group organized and headed to my favorite sushi place in the city. Located a few miles away from the convention center, Niu offers a variety of Asian Fusion options – so there’s a little something for everyone. We were joined by Comfort Love and Adam Withers (Rainbow in the Dark), Byran L Glass (Mice Templar), and a few additional new friends we met that night. Overall the night was fantastic, with the company being top notch. The food never disappoints at this place, and we drank and laughed late into the night.

Eventually, however, the evening had to come to an end and we headed back to the apartment where we continued the party. With another early morning around the corner, however, it was quickly time to call it a night.

SATURDAY:
We got up early and went to the post office to pick up a package that Lora’s husband sent to the apartment. Unfortunately, since my name’s still not on the directory yet, mail tends to have some difficulty finding me. Lora and I walked to the place (after grabbing a doughnut from Dinkles, which Beth was kind enough to buy for everyone), and waited for like 30 minutes before an announcement came over the intercom saying “Louise, your break is over.” Suddenly, someone was able to wait on us.

What kind of person takes a break at 8am on a Saturday, I ask you? At least Lora and I got a chance to hang out a little, which was nice.

After getting the package, we headed out to the show floor and arrived just as the doors were opening. Thankfully, setting up the second day is much easier than the first, when you’re trying to figure out where everything goes. Sales on Saturday for Albert were not as strong as Friday, but RWP sold like hot cakes. Russ even sold through most of his Strawberry Shortcake stock. The day was solid wall-to-wall traffic. Thankfully, our table was right next to a 5 hour energy drink booth, in case we needed a pick-me-up at any point in time.

Beth attended the show on Saturday as well, disappearing for most of the day. She tells me she spent most of it in a corner playing Plants vs Zombies, but I don’t know that I believe her. There was way too much cool art in artist alley to check out to play video games. And Beth has an eye for cool art stuff.

After the show the group split up for dinner. Knowing I had a pile of work at home (and was exhausted), I headed back to the apartment with Russ, Scott, and Beth. We went to a local restaurant with southern comfort food, and then went to an ice cream place for a tasty treat before heading home. Once there, we popped in Spaceballs (How many @$$holes! do we have on this ship, anyhow?) and laughed our exhausted butts off. Eventually the rest of the group returned, and we drank and socialized until much later than we should have. However, it was a fun final night together before our last day of the show.

SUNDAY:
Our last day at the show saw a later get up time (for me, at least) since everyone was pretty much exhausted. We grabbed what was left of the pizza and doughnuts and headed to the show (after some minor car issues involving the need to jump the battery). Sunday was kids day, and we sold books like crazy fiends. Around 11:15am was the live reading for RWP. I was joined by Beth and Scott for the reading, and we headed over to the large stage. Our crowd started off at around 30 people, and ended with about 150 people. We had some kids come up on the stage to volunteer their reading skills for a chance to win a copy of the anthology signed by all of the contributors at the show. We had some really brave kids come up on that stage, hold a mic, and read some of our funny books – but the kids were fearless, and did an awesome job.

After the reading, we went back to the table and spent the rest of the time selling through as much of our remaining stock as possible before the end of the day. I sold through most of my Albert books (about half of my stock), and we knocked out several kickstarter packages for C2E2 attendees. Overall, Russ and I did a lot of business at the show and had a great time doing it.

After the show ended we said our goodbyes, and parted ways. Beth and I went home, made some dinner, and watched some True Grit and How I Met Your Mother before hitting the hay.

Overall, C2E2 is a great show filled with celebrity comic creators (and celebrities), and a fun venue through which to premiere a new book. Always a great time hanging out with my comic creator friends and meeting new people and fans at a show like this, and I’m looking forward to the next one soon!

Wow, so I’m finally starting to catch up on my blogging (only two weeks later, right?). Specifically as it relates to Wizard World Chicago this year.

Let me just put some historical context here before breaking it down by the day’s events. Years ago, Wizard World Chicago was the first large convention I ever attended (and by large, I mean over 10,000 attendees). And it was the first convention where I shifted by focus from being an attendee to being an exhibitor. And I did this slowly – by meeting creators and chatting them up and learning about the industry from the business perspective. What I really liked about the show was the networking – and the fact that, after the show ends, just about everyone hangs out at the Hyatt bar. So the networking never really stops. This is really the show that launched by professional comics career – and I met most of my comic friends at this show, so it holds a special place for me.

That said, let’s get into the events of the show….

THURSDAY
I left work as soon as I could to make it in time for preview night, and made it there only an hour after it started. Unfortunately it sounds like the bulk of the business happened within that first hour. But I got set up and got to see some familiar faces all the same. WWC put most of the Reading with Pictures in a single row, so I got to hang out with many of my friends over the weekend. With us in the group were Russell Lissau (Shrek, Strawberry Shortcake), Steve Horton (DC Holiday Annual, Superman Annual), John Bivens (Comic Book Tattoo, Popgun), Steve Wallace (Binary Love, Omega Comics Presents), and Gabrielle Bautisa (The Spirit, Elephant Man). With us as well was my good friend Alan Evans (Rival Angels).

And visiting from Ann Arbor was my good buddy Scott, who was helping us all out throughout the weekend. Without Scott, I don’t know how we would’ve made it through this weekend.

After the floor closed, we all went back to the hotel room for some much needed pizza (and whiskey). It was a great start to what would be an amazing weekend.

FRIDAY
The group awoke pretty early in the morning and went to the Hyatt restaurant for breakfast. Upon walking in we passed Nicholas Brenden (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and we all took our turns at the buffet. While eating, Felicia Day walked in and sat in a booth by us. Celebrities started filtering in throughout as we took off to get ready for the show. I set up the booth a little differently from how I’ve done it in the past, and I think it worked out for the best.

The feature of the show was Reading with Pictures, which has been nominated for two Harvey Awards – one for best anthology, and another for best kid’s book. I had two editions: the softcover trade, and the limited edition hard cover. Next to it I always placed Junkyard Chase, which I consider a companion since it includes a script and kind of works as a template for young creators. After that was Hope: The Hero Initiative – another strong book that supports a great cause. In the middle were my sketch cards and free bookmarks. And bringing up the end were the few copies of @$$hole! I brought to the show.

Around 1pm I had to step away from the table for an hour to present some research I had done for work, so I retired to the hotel room (which was quiet). About an hour later, I came back out to the floor to keep selling and sell hard. Beth was at the table with me by this time, having a half-day at the office, and together we had an extremely strong Friday.

Scott only tried to steal my table once.

After the floor closed we all headed to The Ram for burgers. It’s one of our favorite places to unwind after the show – especially since they can take a party as large as ours. After dinner we all went back to the hotel for some pre-party in the hotel room, followed by heading down to the Hyatt bar to mingle. Upon getting down there we were met by fellow webcomic creators Tom Brazelton (Theater Hopper) and Gordon McAplin (Multiplex).

The treat of the evening for me was getting to hang out with Talent Caldwell (Fathom: Killian’s Tide, Superman: Godfall). Talent and I have hung out a bit at past shows, but tonight there were less people to distract us from good conversation. He caught me up on some projects he’s working on, and I did the same.

All in all the night ended later than I intended, but it was an amazing evening.

SATURDAY
To save a little money we decided to have breakfast at the restaurant attached to the convention center. Since this was the big day of the weekend, we all decided to sport our RWP t-shirts. This may have helped to bolster sales, because Saturday was the highest sales day I’ve ever had before. In fact, I sold better on Saturday alone than I’ve sold at my last two shows combined – and I did extremely well at those two shows. Beth was helping at the table the entire day, and despite a small fit of allergy attack (in the middle of the pitch to a customer, no less), the day went incredibly smoothly. I even sold out of @$$hole! about half way through the day, despite bringing triple the amount of books that I sold through last year.

There weren’t a lot of cosplayers at this show, but the costumes that were in the audience were pretty awesome.

Saturday was a very long but extremely profitable and fun day. And as a reward, the group went to McCormick and Schmicks to celebrate. After dinner, the group went to pre-party in the hotel room, and then back down to the Hyatt bar for some fun and networking. I ran into familiar faces, met some of the actors from the Boondock Saints, and hung out with Jill Thompson (Scary Godmother, Beasts of Burden). After a few drinks, the group retired for the night for the final day of the show.

SUNDAY
The final day of the show and the entire group was feeling pretty good about the weekend. But as always, you want to finish strong, so we didn’t slow down the sales. And sales did not slow down. In fact, I finished stronger on Sunday than I’ve done during an entire weekend at some shows.

As the floor closed we all said our goodbyes and packed up. We were too exhausted to get together for a final meal of the weekend, but I think it was an accomplished tired. Beth and I went home, ordered some food, watched a flick and passed out. Overall, Wizard World Chicago set a new benchmark for sales at conventions – one that will be hard to meet or beat. Until next year, at least.

As many of you know, in my free time I work as the marketing director for The Reading with Pictures, a non-profit organization working to get comics in the classroom. The organization has been only been around for a year, but in that time we have made strategic alliances with key educational organizations as well as The American Library Association to help educators reach under-developed readers and develop a curriculum to teach teachers how to teach with comics. Parents and educators have really gotten behind the idea of comics in the classroom, and the comics community was also extremely excited about the role comics could play in education as well.

As such, the organization reached out and secured over 50 professional comic creators to volunteer their time to create a 200 page full color anthology, which RWP published. These are award-winning or multi-award nominated creators such as Raina Telgemeier, Jill Thompson, Fred Van Lente, John Bivens, Chris Giarrusso, Jimmy Gownley, Josh Elder, Russell Lissau, and many more!

I also contributed a story in this all-ages anthology called Albert the Alien, with Eisner Award winner Gabrielle Bautista doing the artwork. The anthology was a lot of fun to put together, and it’s been a top-seller at conventions across the country (and also available on amazon.com).

Over the holiday weekend it was announced that Reading with Pictures was nominated for two Harvey Awards:

The Harvey Awards are like the People’s Choice of comics, where comic professionals create the nominations and then he people get to decide who or what receives the awards. Because of this, we humbly request your continued support for Reading with Pictures by asking you to vote for us in these two categories.

Help us bring home the win by going to the Harvey Awards website and voting for your favorite comic creators / comics.

Sorry it’s a little late (I was updating blogs about making comics, fer goodness sake), but finally here’s the entry about C2E2.

THURSDAY:
After a long hard day at the office, I headed home to meet my friends at the apartment. As always I provided dinner for the guests, and had a great assortment of friends: Joe Dun and Phil Chan (www.digitalpimponline.com), Russell Lissau (Batman Strikes, Shrek), Steve Wallace (Binary Love), and Alan Evans (www.rivalangels.com). After a long night of catching up and hanging out, we all went to bed to get ready for the long weekend ahead.

FRIDAY
Steve and I had to run to the post office to get some items that had been shipped but not delivered. We didn’t have any problems getting them – but the post office was in the other direction from the show. However, only a little bit after the show started, we arrived and started to set up the table. Professional hours were from 10am-1pm, and so it was a good chance to walk around and say hi to familiar faces, meet some new creators, and chat with editors. However, after the pro hours ended it was time to sell.

And sell we did.

Junkyard Chase sold very well, especially when paired with Reading with Pictures. Steve and I were table mates and had a great time. Positioned in the same isle as many of the top DC all-ages creators, so there were plenty of people who liked what we had to buy. The new banner made it’s premiere and met with positive response.

After a strong day of sales the group went out to one of my favorite sushi restaurants in town, called Niu. Everyone had a great time, and after we went back to my place for much needed rest.

SATURDAY
An early morning and a strong sales day. Steve and I were on fire all day, and with only a few Reading with Pictures panels to keep me away from the table, most of it was able to be spent meeting and mingling with friends and fans. As a bonus, my girlfriend Beth was in attendance and she got to tour the show with some of her friends, and eventually even hung out at the table with Steve and I.

After another long day at the show, the group went out to a local burger joint in my neighborhood, and then went back to my place to hang out and enjoy our last night of the weekend.

SUNDAY
Sunday morning we all went to a local breakfast hub, and then headed off to the show. It was kind of a slow day for me sales wise, but still a fun time. Eventually everyone left the show, Alan being kind enough to take Phil and Joe to the airport. All in all it was a great weekend, spent with amazing friends. Looking forward to the next show.

Wizard World Chicago was my first “big” comic convention. I met many of my friends there. Most of my comic friends, in fact. It’s a show that holds a special place in my heart.

Last year, many of the publishers in the comic industry pulled out of the show and many of us were wondering if the show would continue on without them. Many of us wondered if we would ever again make the trek from the Hyatt Bar back to our hotels, exhausted and satisfied (and maybe a little tipsy). There were only two ways that the next year’s show could go: the show would thrive without the publishers, or the show would disappear.

When I agreed to get a table at WCC this year, I figured even if the show sucked at least I’d have fun with my comic friends. The fear from the previous year still prevailed, however, and I wasn’t sure what would happen. The unknown invigorated me, and the adrenaline was high on Thursday when I left the office and headed out to the show once more. Suffice it to say, our fears were unjustified. The show was AMAZING.

Alan Evans – creator of Rival Angels

Thursday night and everyone there had already made a ton of sales – and the show didn’t even start until the next day, officially. We celebrated the weekend by going to the Ram (one of Russ’s favorite places) and downing a few stiff adult beverages. The next day would start our weekend of selling comics. Including our new book, Reading with Pictures!

Trevor (hey, that’s me) models the Reading with Pictures anthology

Of course, other books were on sale as well. Russell was selling copies of The Batman Strikes, Hope: New Orleans, and his self-published work The 29.

John Bivens was selling copies of Comic Book Tattoo, PopGun, and his other anthologies. Steve Wallace was selling copies of Sequential Suicide, Binary Love, and his Sandman prints. And of course, I was on hand with RWP, as well as a little book we all know and love called “@$$hole!”

Sales were high all weekend, and I even got to meet a few of the celebrity guests including Paul McGillion (Stargate: Atlantis), Walter Koenig (Star Trek, Babylon 5), and John Schneider (Dukes of Hazard, Smallville). Paul and I chatted at the bar after hours about the show (since he admitted to being a little new to the comic scene). But most of the time was spent with my good comic friends…and losing my voice selling.

Many fans and friends came to visit me at the table, and it was awesome to see them all. And many new friends were made. And a personal victory for me was that I completely sold out of the first box of Reading with Pictures. The book was a huge success, and people loved it.

The show was tons of fun yet again, and while I’m going to be really busy at shows coming up, I totally plan to attend the show again next year. And that last sentence totally doesn’t make any sense….